1. Field of the Invention
Disclosed is a device for sportsmen who want or need to use a walking staff to reach their favorite fishing spots, but are reluctant to use one because a walking staff would add another piece of equipment to the already numerous pieces of fishing gear to carry. This invention provides for a walking/wading staff with a fully sized, integral fishnet.
Fishing whether onshore or in the water is a popular pastime that requires transporting multiple pieces of fishing gear to a desired fishing spot, usually at a location that is somewhat inconvenient for walking. In the course of arriving at that site, sportsmen traverse woods, sloped hills and ragged shores before finding their ideal fishing location, while usually wearing rubbery boots/footgear. On such travails, these sportsmen encounter uneven terrain with rocks and stones, riverbeds with hidden foot-catching crevices and slippery stream bottoms; any of which may cause them to lose balance and fall. There is a need for standard piece of fishing equipment that can double as a walking staff, so as not to burden fishermen with an extra piece of gear.
2. Relevant Art
The net portions of the present invention are directionally distinct from those shown in Heritage U.S. Pat. No. 752,550. In Harris U.S. Pat. No. 1,258,632, a small “landing net”, element 11, is depicted. The walking cane of Watterson U.S. Pat. No. 2,033,408 includes a pocket/bag for other sporting reasons. In FIG. 1 of Lee U.S. Pat. No. 7,269,921 there are tips at both ends of a net.
Several known fishing rod-walking cane configurations includes those in Edgerly U.S. Pat. No. 475,852; Lobit U.S. Pat. No. 849,481; Grandjean U.S. Pat. No. 1,972,518; Demetris U.S. Pat. No. 7,210,264 and Govero Pending Application No. 11/681,476. Meanwhile, Kelley Pending application Ser. No. 09/776,866 focused on a particular “survival stick” for fly-fishing.
Telescopically extending or folding fishnets are the focus of Morseth U.S. Pat. No. 2,595,597; Gerritsen U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,177 and DePoe U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,399 while Needham U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,891 and Ericksen U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,538 showed hooks for fishing tools and/or wading staffs. Finally, Thomas U.S. Pat. No. 7,395,629 showed a combined fishing accessory with numerous elements, even an added light.